Following the lead of other companies like
Post-It, PaperMate and Sanford have released several items to promote Breast Cancer Awareness with a portion of the profits being donated to various programs that deal with prevention and education. This is one of five products that carry the pink ribbon logo and are selling like hotcakes in my area. Not only are people buying them to use and show their support but they are buying them to give as gifts. Even though I am not into girlie things or anything that is even close to the color pink [except blood red and sanguine], I have to admit that the pink and gray of the pen is very eye catching. No, I am not getting soft but I can admit that something is cute without losing my edge.
PaperMate FlexGrip Elite Retractable Pen
If you are into pens that have a smooth but wide tip to them then this is the pen for you. Even though I really like writing with razor point pens most of the time, nothing beats a pen that lays on a nice, thick dark line. I haven't had any issues with skipping or pooling of ink so far and I have used this on a variety of paper from copy bond to loose leaf. Since this is a retractable tip you don't have to worry about losing a cap and the clicker on it isn't loud. We have "a clicker" at a shop, he doesn't realize he is doing it until someone screams at him or throws something his way. I started my own for of intervention with him by making him write with this whenever I caught him clicking away while he was reading or surfing the internet. Making him write with a pink pen for a half hour or so did work so if you have a 'constant clicker', this might be your salvation.
One of the biggest selling points to the pen is that a portion of the profits are donated to educating people about breast cancer as well as research and donations to the City of Hope. Seeing as how this has the backing of PaperMate and parent company Sanford, it would be a good seller even if it didn’t have a smooth write to it. One thing that is rather irksome is the product pimping that PaperMate is resorting to; the Lubriglide ink system is something that is rather commonplace with most of their pens these days but when they start with the Anti Microbial "technology" one has to laugh. I don't care what kind of fancy name they slap on a pen, if it works and it writes the way I want it to then I will buy it and recommend it to others.
What makes this stand out from other pens in its class? The rubber comfort grip is a bit harder than others so you don’t get that squish feeling after you have been writing with it for a while. The grip is longer and runs up the middle of the pen, this is great for people who hold their pens differently then other people. As far as looks goes, it is slender and delicate and 100% feminine; I wish there was some type of a gift box that you could buy for it but this isn't exactly a top of the line expensive pen. You can buy a Pen Sack [like a wine gift sack only for a pen] and slide it into that. I'm not too keen on the plastic pocket clip but the color does match up perfectly to the gray on the clicker end of it. The opposite end is topped off with a silver tip so it does have a nice look to it without it be so nice that people want to steal it.
These cost about .50 cents more than regular PaperMate pens that are in the same class. You can buy them by the dozen for about $11.00 so that drops the price to less than a dollar a piece. Prices will vary from store to store but I have found the best prices on the individual ones at Staples. Are they worth paying a little more for? To me they are and not just because of the donation that is made for breast cancer research. It's a solid pen that writes well and because it can be refilled, it is something that you can keep around for a long time. The body of the pen is strong enough that it can be refilled multiple times but if you are hard on pens you might be able to get away with one or two refills before it just dies or refuses to click.
The Bottom Line
After having other FlexGrip and FlexGrip Ultras pens the Elite was a nice change of pace. The line width is thick and the ink is dark so it is something that I really like writing with. These do make for great gifts and if you combine them with other products from companies that are also participating in the City of hope and cancer research donation program you can make up a nice gift basket. If you are into pens and want to help advance cancer awareness, education and research then grabbing a couple of these will help the cause. Even if you aren't into that, how often do you come across a cool looking pink pen like this?
As always, thanks for the visit…
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2008 Freak369
Post-It Breast Cancer Awareness Flag Pen & Highlighter Set
Fingermate,
X-Tend,
"Eraser Mate",
Comfort Mate Black,
Comfort Mate Purple,
Flair Felt Tip,
Flair 12 Color Set,
Pendulum Black,
FlexGrip Ultra Retractable,
FlexGrip Ultra Red,
FlexGrip Ultra Purple,
Eraser.Max,
Profile Eight Color Pack,
Plasma
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